Sword and shield. (Clinton, Miss.) 1885-1888, 1887-01-29
CHAPTER ".

We had killed nine elephants, and it took
us two days to cut out the tusks and get them
home and bury them carefully in the sand
under large tree. which made q conspicu.
Gus mark for miles. 1t was wonderfully
fine lot Of ivory. / never saw better, aver
aging as it did between forty and fifty
pounds tusk. The tuSkS of the great bull
that killed poor Khiva scaled one hundred
and seventy pounds the pair, as nearly as we
could Judge.
AS for Khiva himself we buried what re-
manned of him in an ant-bear hole, together
with an assegai to protect himself with on
his journey to better world On the third
day we started on, hoping that we might one
day return to dig up our buried ivory, and in
due course, after a long and weariSOme
tramp and many adventures which l have
not space to detail, reached Sitanda's KraaL
near the Lukanga Rivsr, the real starting
point of our expedition. Very well do re-
collect our arrival at that place. To the right
was scattered native settlement with few
stone cattle kraals and slme cultivated lands
down by the water. wlere these savages
grew their Scanty supply of grain, and be-
yond it great tracts of wing ''veldtP cover.
q ,'tr-eell 0.,ss>,o sch herdS, of the
Il isit Sssas SIS e ~
To lie left was Il ieserE I
appeared to be t.. lpost of th'
country, and it wou, !ySa.I difficult to 6eS Z
what natural causes such an abrupt Chang
in the character of the soil was due. But s
it was. Just below our encampment flowe
little stream, on the further side of whicl
was a stony slope, the same down which
had twenty years before seen poor Silvestr
creeping back after his attempt to reach So
lomOn's Mines, and beyond that slope begal
the waterless desert covered with a specie
of karoo shrub 1t was evening when w
pitched our camp, and the great fiery ball Q
the sun was sinking into the desert sendin
glorious rays Of many-coIored light flying al
over the vast expanse Leaving Good T.
superintend the arrangement Of our littl
camp took Sir Henry with me. and W
walked to the top of the slope opposite an
gazed out across the desert. The air was yer
clear, and far, far away could distinguish
the faint blue outlines, here and there cappe
with white, of the great Suliman Berg.
''There," l said, there is the wall Of Solo
mons Mines, but God knows if we shall eve
climb it."
my brother should be there, and if he il
shall reach him somehow" said Sir Henry
in that tone of quiet confidence whic
marked the man.
II hope So" l answered, and turned to &
back to the camp, when | saw that we wer
not alone Behind us, also gazing earnestl
toward the far-Off mountains, stood the grea
, Zulu UmbOpa.
ho U,v1V, cT1nIyo Nrhnn hn that nQ
observed him, but addressed himself to 81
Henry, to whom he had attached himself.
at is to that land that you would journey
IncubuP' (Elephant-Sir Henry's Zul
name), he said, pointing toward the mour
tains with his broad aSsegai
l asked him sharply what he meant by ad
dressing his master in that familiar way. ]
is very well for natives to have name fo
one among themselves, but it is not decor
that they should call one by their heather
: ish appellatiOns to ones face. The ma
laughed a quiet little laugh which riled me
s'How do you know that l am not tn
: equal of the Inkosi 1 server he said. III
: is of a royal house, no doubt; one can see
in his size and in his eye; so perhaps am
!. At least l am as great man. Be my mouth
I oh. Macumazahn, and say my words to tn
Inkoos Incubu, my master, for | woul
: speak to him and to you"
1 was angry with the man, for am nc
9 accustomed to be talked to in that way D.
/ Kafirs. but somehow he impressed me, an
: besides was curious to know what he ha
to saw. so translated, expressing my opir
Q ion at the same time that he was an impl
!. dent fellow, and that his swagger was ou
= rageOus.
e sYes, Umbopa," answered Sir Henry
81 would journey there.
J, 1.-THE desert is wide and there is no waite
J. the mountains are high and covered wit
Q snow, and man cannot say what is beyon
: them behind the place where the sun set
how shall you come thither, Ineubu, an
9 wherefore do you gO?" h-4 Ssa @
translated again.
e 'STell him" answered Sir Henry that
; 90 because L believe that man of my bloOl
!. nv brother, has gone there before me, and
y 90 to seek him." 1E s. 56 is
! ''That is 50, Incubu; man met on I'll
= = road told me that white man went out int
the desert two years ago toward those moul
= tains with one servant a hunter. The
e e uever came back" od
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